Having been a secular Humanist for most of my life, I generally shy away from overtly religious individuals in my life. It's not that I don't like them or am not open-minded enough to engage them - no, quite the opposite. However, it seems that my generous tolerance for the beliefs of others is not even remotely matched by my Believer brothers. Case in point - I recently found out that an individual that I was dating was quite offended at my usage of the term 'Goddamn!' when used as a substitute for, what were in my opinion, more saucy words. He was not amused however. This was ironic, I thought, especially because not a couple of night ago we watched 'Strangers with Candy', which as some may remember, used that term ad-nauseam for the pure fun of offending people. Anyhoo, not wanting to have the 'religion' talk, I simply tried to downplay it and promised I would work on it. This appeared to not be enough and before I could get a word in edgewise, I was staring down the middle of THE Debate. Now I would prefer some kind of warning prior to engaging in this type of thing to mentally prepare myself or at least search for the emergency exit signs. In this instance, I was literally trapped!
Needless to say, it did not go well. Apparently, sharing one's real opinions and beliefs will not be pleasing to a Believer unless you a) acknowledge that god exists, b) admit that as an atheist, you are a second-class citizen or at least inadequate for 'missing something', c) admit that faith is necessary for all to live a fulfilling life, d) keep your opinion to yourself regarding the above and e) raise any potential children in the Belief, preferably indoctrinating them from an age at which object permanence has just emerged.
Now if anyone knows me, I tend to be very steadfast in my principles, especially when it comes to such personal and defining issues. I politely excused myself, apologized for stating that the bible contains multiple parts that directly contradict other parts (this was more of a saving face gesture as it truly does! I wrote multiple papers on this exact topic) and stated that I did not want to have this discussion further. Alternatively, I may be willing to meet him halfway and become a Pastafarian but I refuse to attend services. More of a just-in-case Pastafarian really as I wouldn't want to have egg on my face once the Flying Spaghetti Monster appears.
Perhaps this episode explains the utility of the 'religion' category in personals but this can get dicey. People put all kinds of things in there, not least of all 'spiritual'. This can mean anything from them not wanting to admit that they are atheists in an attempt to dissuade other people, such as my date, from perceiving them as heretics to hard-core wiccans who dance naked around trees in Central Park until being taken to the Bellevue psychiatric ward. A true gamble!
Perhaps, I will rethink this and consider attending the Church of the FSM after all. As long as they have singles night.
Needless to say, it did not go well. Apparently, sharing one's real opinions and beliefs will not be pleasing to a Believer unless you a) acknowledge that god exists, b) admit that as an atheist, you are a second-class citizen or at least inadequate for 'missing something', c) admit that faith is necessary for all to live a fulfilling life, d) keep your opinion to yourself regarding the above and e) raise any potential children in the Belief, preferably indoctrinating them from an age at which object permanence has just emerged.
Now if anyone knows me, I tend to be very steadfast in my principles, especially when it comes to such personal and defining issues. I politely excused myself, apologized for stating that the bible contains multiple parts that directly contradict other parts (this was more of a saving face gesture as it truly does! I wrote multiple papers on this exact topic) and stated that I did not want to have this discussion further. Alternatively, I may be willing to meet him halfway and become a Pastafarian but I refuse to attend services. More of a just-in-case Pastafarian really as I wouldn't want to have egg on my face once the Flying Spaghetti Monster appears.
Perhaps this episode explains the utility of the 'religion' category in personals but this can get dicey. People put all kinds of things in there, not least of all 'spiritual'. This can mean anything from them not wanting to admit that they are atheists in an attempt to dissuade other people, such as my date, from perceiving them as heretics to hard-core wiccans who dance naked around trees in Central Park until being taken to the Bellevue psychiatric ward. A true gamble!
Perhaps, I will rethink this and consider attending the Church of the FSM after all. As long as they have singles night.
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